A hearty, heartfelt thank-you to all our donors!

A big shout-out to all the community members who donated money to Lowell this fall. The PTA received many donations, from both individuals and local businesses, all of which will make a big difference for our kids. Thank you for supporting the Lowell community!

If you’d like to help writing thank-you cards to donors, please reply to this email. (We’re hoping to meet up and work on them somewhere fun and kid-friendly, like Optimism Brewing.)

PTA General Meeting, Tuesday, January 23, 6 to 8pm

Please join us for mid-year reports on what’s happening at Lowell. RSVP here so we know how much pizza and childcare to plan for!

PTA members (and anyone who signs up at the meeting) will receive one of these cool window decals pictured above, designed by former Stranger senior designer (and Friend of Lowell!) Mary Traverse.

Everyone is welcome. You do not have to be a member to attend. Food provided at 6pm, meeting starts at 6:30pm in the Lowell library. Free childcare available.

Valentine’s Day Dance, Saturday, February 10, 5 to 7pm

Show us your moves! All families are welcome to come to Lowell for the annual Valentine’s Day Dance. We’ll have delicious food and lots of activities plus a DJ and more.

We could still use more help with this fun event, if you want to get involved please email Giavonni Brooks, our PTA Co-President, at giavonni.brooks@gmail.com.

National African American Parent Involvement Day, Feb. 12

A small group of teachers is coordinating Lowell’s activities for this national one-day event, giving African American parents, families, community members, professors, and professionals a chance to visit Lowell.

We are looking for parents who can help coordinate or participate in this effort. If you’re interested or know anyone in the community who might want to help, please email Ms. Laura at lmschulz@seattleschools.org.

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 12/20. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Happy holidays!

Hope your family is enjoying the break. We wanted to get in one more Dragon Tales for 2017—just sharing the scoop on after-school enrichment and checking in on how the year is going so far. Thank you for reading!

How’s your school year going?

Whether you have a story about an amazing teacher, questions about the school or curriculum, or suggestions about fun events or activities you’d love to see for our community, we want to hear from you!

We also want to hear any concerns you have about recent news stories on Lowell, how the school addresses social-emotional learning and safety, or how the district and school support your child’s teachers. Maybe your child is struggling with bullying or with math—and you want to know what resources are available.

Seattle Parks & Rec after-school enrichment

Thanks to parent Chris Sondreal for sharing this roundup below. (As he says, “Our 3rd grade son has really enjoyed attending 3-4 days a week during the fall.”)

Dates: 1/8/18 through 4/6/18

Each of these classes does have an activity fee. You’ll have to hunt around on the Seattle Parks and Rec website and find “Childcare and Out-of-School Time” and then specify the Lowell location to read more details. Please note that not every single class received enough signups in the fall, so whether every class goes forward may depend on interest.

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 11/26. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Dear Lowell PTA members and parents,

We need help.

We want Lowell to be as strong as it can be. Other PTAs in the Seattle area have dozens of active volunteers, boards of 12 to 15 people, and many parents taking leadership roles in membership, community outreach, fundraising, before- and after-school enrichment, legislative advocacy, facilities planning, teacher support/classroom coordinators, and technology.

This involvement has a huge impact on the success and well-being of students and teachers at those schools.

The Partners at Lowell School PTA has few volunteers and a board of just nine individuals, working really hard to provide basic support for things like school events, food pantry and office volunteers, dine-outs, rug cleaning, teacher classroom grants, communications, and more. Our PTA has also been advocating with the district regarding the bus situation and other ways we can help our teachers in the classroom, plus fielding inquiries from our neighboring PTAs regarding partnerships.

We’re all excited to help Lowell grow and thrive, but a small group can only do so much. We know we don’t have the resources of other schools, but we definitely need as much as help as we can get!

There are so many opportunities for people in our Lowell community to take on a leadership role. Some of them are below, but you might also have ideas of your own.

Board Participation Grant

The PTA wants to make sure that any parent at Lowell who wants to serve on the board and advocate for families and students has that opportunity. That’s why we started the Board Participation Grant this year, for parents who want to help on the board and take on a leadership role, but who could not otherwise because of financial constraints.

Grant funds can cover costs for childcare or transportation, for example. We can also accommodate remote participation via Skype. If you are interested or have questions about this program, please reply to this email.

Chair and Leadership Positions

Volunteers for any of the following positions can also serve on the PTA board, but it is not a requirement. If you’re interested and want to learn more, just reply to this email.

Annual PTA Auction Chair and Committee. The annual PTA auction has traditionally been our biggest fundraiser of the year, and it urgently needs a chairperson. In previous years, we’ve raised almost a third of our budget from this one event. It is a moderate-sized event, but super fun, and takes a very organized and passionate chair (and/or committee of friends) to pull it off. Experienced auction volunteers from other PTAs would be able to provide advice and guidance if needed.

Individual Event Coordinators. This is a great opportunity if you’re new to Lowell or PTAs in general and want to try coordinating on a smaller scale. We need volunteers to help run a number of small events in the spring. This can be a “Dine-Out” for Lowell event, the annual move-a-thon student fundraiser, running an outreach booth at Pride, or other at-school socials.

Membership and Outreach. A vital membership base is so crucial to Lowell’s success. If you have any interest in recruiting members or leaders, and/or reaching out to communities at our school who have difficulty participating for whatever reason, we would love to have your help.

Your area of expertise. If your area of expertise is education/enrichment programs, volunteer coordination, legal advocacy, technology, or working with other PTAs or community groups, we can use your help. Please reply to this email.

We’re so thankful that another great Seattle restaurant and community partner has offered to share their proceeds for a night. If you’ve never been, you are in for a treat. Witness is a “Southern-influenced craft cocktail bar with Southern-inspired dishes,” on Broadway between Republican and Harrison. (And if you *have* been to Witness, you don’t need any more encouragement to come next Tuesday!)

As one Zagat reviewer said, “This place is five stars alone just for the chicken and waffles. WOW.”

Help out our Islandwood campers

As you may have seen on the blog, Islandwood is coming up fast! Our fifth-graders will be gone most of next week, exploring the 250-acre Islandwood campus and honing their scientific and problem-solving skills.

Even if you are not a fifth-grade parent, you can support our campers by donating a pillow, a blanket or sleeping bag, or a set of basic toiletries. Ms. Laura says we could probably use about five each of those, contact her if you can help or if you have any questions about the trip. (If you have any connection to a business that might be able to help, email lowellparents@gmail.com and we can try to help make that happen.)

Calling all volunteers!

As many of you know, we have a lot of opportunities for parents and community members to pitch in and help out at Lowell.

We are very happy to announce that Rob Lightner, a former SPS parent (his stepdaughter started college last year), has offered to pitch in as our temporary volunteer coordinator. Rob is great, and he’s run volunteer programs for the NW AIDS Foundation and 826 Seattle.

If you want to volunteer—or you know someone or some business or organization that would like to help out—please send them to lowellvolunteering@gmail.com. You can also see a list of some of Lowell’s current volunteer needs on the PTA blog.

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 10/22. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

This Thursday at 5:30pm, it’s “Fall into Literacy and Fun!”

Also known as “Fall Harvest Festival” and “Literacy Night,” this is a great chance to hang out with other parents and staff, take a dance lesson with Coach T, eat free banh mi sandwiches (from the delicious Lan Hue), create some pumpkin art, and find cool ways to inspire your child to read—including a book giveaway!

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 10/15. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Time to say cheese!

Don’t forget: Student pictures are this week! Monday (10/16) for pre-K and special ed, Tuesday (10/17) for the rest of K–5. If you haven’t received a picture packet, you should receive it Monday, or you can get one from the office.

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 10/1. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Hello, October!

It’s been a lively first month for our Lowell community. Thanks to everyone who came out for the packed Curriculum Night and “Dine Out”! (And many, many thanks to Coastal Kitchen for helping us have a successful first fund-raiser.)

PTA General Meeting on Wednesday, October 4, 6–7:30pm (free food and childcare!)

The Parents At Lowell School PTA is a great way to get involved with your school and meet fellow parents. Come to the General Meeting and you can hear all about upcoming events, fundraisers, the annual budget, and ways you can pitch in.

If you’re curious and want to learn more, join us in the Lowell cafeteria. You don’t have to be a member to attend. Free food and childcare available.